Hardly Human
by LaurelPrincess
Summary: I am not natural, I was created in a lab. I am being hunted down by humans, mobs, demons, and gods. But for the first time in my life, I am not alone. I am an enderdragon hybrid. I am… Hardly Human…
1. Escape and Rescue

Run. That was all I knew. Crashing through the darkness, trees and bushes hitting me every chance they got. Trying to get as far away as possible, I couldn't go back there, not ever. I couldn't let them catch me again. My side felt like it was on fire, but in truth I had been shot in both my side and my leg. I was limping badly. Feeling a stab of pain in my wing, I tripped over a root and couldn't get up. Hearing someone tearing through the brush near me, I closed my eyes. In a few moments, I would be caught again. What torment would they come up with this time? This was the second time I had tried to escape, I was no stranger to pain. I saw someone coming towards me, and I closed my eyes, falling into a semi-concious state.

(3rd person)

Tommy laughed as they walked through the woods, his friends Eli and Savannah following him. Suddenly, he heard something crashing through the trees a short distance away. "Hey guys, did you hear that?" he asked, and when his friends nodded, he started towards where the noise had come from, pulling his iron sword out of his sheath just in case. Tommy broke out of the treeline and into a clearing, he saw a shape slumped on the ground. He gasped, running towards it. Then he stopped. It was a girl, about their age (a/n 15), but what made him hesitate was the sight of the black wings on her back and her black scaled tail. There were arrows sticking out of her leg, side, and one of her wings, reddish-purple blood seeping out of her wounds. Tommy lifted her head to see if she was concious and almost recoiled when he pulled her black hair out of her face. The girl's eyes were purple, and not only that, they were glowing, giving off a faint light. She seemed to be only half concious, so he turned to Eli and Savannah, but stopped when he heard something crashing through the forest.

(Back to first pov)

My eyes opened, but I wasn't in my body. I sighed, floating above it. I wasn't dead, as much as I sometimes wanted to be. I was in a state called DreamSight, a plane of existance between conciousness and sleep. Only a few people could access DreamSight, the scientists hadn't known that I could. I glanced at the boy who was looking at me (my body), he had reddish blond hair, freckles, and blue eyes. Two other people were with him, a girl who might be his sister with blond hair, glasses and blue eyes. The other was a boy who had dark skin, brown eyes, and brown-black hair. When they looked up at the sound of something running towards them, I cringed, knowing who it was. It was the guards from the compound where I had been held. I saw the first boy pull out an iron sword, and just as the soldiers came into sight, my DreamSight failed with my weakness and I drifted into the comforting darkness of unconciousness.


	2. Meeting New Friends

My eyes fluttered open, I moved my arm and realized something. I was in a bed? But why wasn't I behind bars in my cage? I sniffed the air, the antiseptic smells of the compound were gone, replaced by the pleasant scents of wood and apples. I moved my wing, and noticed that it and my other wounds were bandaged. I was so confused, then the events of the last night rushed back to me and my eyes widened. Had the boy and his friends actually managed to defeat the guards? I sighed, looking out a window. It was the middle of the night so I curled beneath the blankets, reveling in the soft feeling of cloth.

(Time skip)

The next time I woke up, before I opened my eyes, I felt someone messing with my wing. My eyes shot open, causing the boy who was changing the wrappings on my wing to jump back. I sat there, watching him for a few moments before he started talking "Umm… Hi. My name's Tommy, can you speak?" "Yes" I answered, my voice rough and scratchy. How long had it been since I had last spoken? He looked at me with surprise evident in his face, "Do you have a name?" he asked me. I thought for a moment, "No, I never needed to. They used to call me 'Ender' though I hate that" I said. He looked surprised again, then leaned over to finish what he had been doing with my wing, then he smiled awkwardly, "So… Care to explain all this?" he asked, gesturing to my wings. (Which weren't as black as he first thought, they're actually a very deep violet) I gently lifted my unhurt wing, slightly grimacing at the pain from the other one. "I'm an enderdragon hybrid" I started and his eyes grew wide. I continued "As far as I know, I'm the only successful hybrid that those scientists back at the compound created. They've been trying to make others but they all fail. It just makes them hate me more. Now tell me, what did you do that night?" He smiled slightly, a warm gesture that I was unused to, usually if someone smiled at me it was cruel, and followed by pain. "We fought off those guys who were chasing you, I assume that they were chasing you because you escaped?" I nodded and he continued "My sister Savannah and my friend Eli helped me bring you here. We all live here together, all of us are orphans, how 'bout you?" I shook my head before I responded, "As far as I know, I was created by the scientists, so I never had any family" I started to get up, but Tommy stopped me and said "Just rest, you may have to stay in that bed for awhile. I'll be right back, I'm gonna get you something to eat and see if Savannah can lend you some clothes" As he left, I caught my reflection in a mirror, my clothes were torn and a little bloody, my normally straight black hair was a complete mess. I sighed, and leaned back, wrapping my tail around my knees.

(3rd person)

Tommy rushed down the stairs, "Savannah, Eli!" he called to them softly, not wanting to disturb the ender-girl. Savannah came out from the living room, Eli from the kitchen, where he had been making soup for lunch. "What's up Tommy?" Eli asked, still looking half-asleep. Tommy grinned, ready for the kicker, "She's finally awake" he said, smiling at their surprised faces, he explained to them what she had told him about what she was. After they got over their shock, Savannah smiled and said "I'm just glad we were able to help her. What's her name?" in her soft voice. Her brother shook his head, "She doesn't have one" Eli looked at him, "Well we have to call her something" he said. Tommy smiled, "We can bring that up with her later. Savannah, can you find her some clean clothes? I'm gonna get her some soup" His younger sister nodded, and ran off to her room. Tommy went into the kitchen, grabbing a bowl and filling it with soup.

(First pov)

I lay there for about ten minutes before I heard two sets of feet on the stairs. Tommy came into the room, carrying a bowl and a spoon. Following him was the blond girl I assumed was his sister Savannah, she was carrying some clothes. Tommy handed me the bowl and the utensil, I smelled the soup, it smelled of meat but it also had veggies and noodles in it. "What's this?" I asked him as I took it. He smiled, "Chicken noodle soup, What, you've never seen it before?" I shook my head and his smile faltered, "What did they feed you at the compound?" He asked, frowning now. I shrugged, "Mostly raw beef, but this smells so much better!" He looked at me in shock as I started to eat, "Raw beef!? How in Minecraftia can you eat that and not be sick?" He glanced at me again, at the claws at my fingertips and the fangs in my mouth, "Sorry, forgot that you're half dragon" He muttered and I smiled, then he continued "So… What are we going to call you?" Tommy asked. I shrugged, "Doesn't matter to me" He thought for a moment, murmuring "Ender… Enderdragon… Endermen… The End…" Then he yelled, almost causing me to lose my grip on the bowl, good thing I have fast reflexes. "I got it!" I cringed a little at the loud noise, "We'll call you Krystal. Like ender crystals" Savannah nodded, then looked at me. I grinned, "Yeah, I like that. Krystal it is then" And like that, I now have a name, a place to stay, people who care, and hope that I can now live a free life.


	3. Passage of Time

(A few days later)

I was finally outside, my wounds nearly healed (Quick regenerative powers for the win!). I shouldn't stay here for long, not for much longer at least, I was putting my new friends in danger just by being here. The compound's scientists would want me back, they'll be searching for me, and soon they'll come here. When I got outside, I climbed into one of the trees, wanting to be up high, I pushed my thoughts of leaving away. Eli had told me that they lived in an abandoned apple orchard, the nearest village was a few miles away. I smiled, streching my wings out. I wasn't going to fly today, my wings needed a couple more days of rest before I could fly again. I breathed in, catching the apple scent on my toungue, it was so nice and relaxing. Eli came out of the house and leaned against the tree I was in, starting to draw the sky. He was the artsy one of the group all right, most of the decorations in the small house had been made by him. I had my eyes closed, but between my superior hearing and his thoughts (My telepathy), I knew he had turned and was sketching me relaxing in the apple tree, wings out and tail hanging down. I smiled, the warmth of the day lulling me into sleep.


	4. Who is This?

(The next day)

I smiled at Eli, Tommy, and Savannah, spreading my wings (which were pretty much fully healed) and launching myself into the air. Flapping my near-black wings, I reached the clouds, flying though and among the puffy white shapes. I kept flying, simply enjoying the cool air rushing through my hair. Then I flew down, and hovered above my friends as they stared at me in awe. I gave them a silly grin, and Tommy said "Wow… You're awesome!" "Thanks…" I started to say, before freezing at the sound of a thought. In a heartbeat, I shot up into the cloud layer. I saw their confused faces and watched as someone walked up behind them.

(3rd person)

Eli looked up, confused "Why did she fly away?" he asked, seeing his friends as confused as he was. "Dunno" Eli said, looking at Savannah, who shrugged. Then a voice called out, "Hey guys!" making Eli jump. He turned to see their friend Lily, who lived in the nearest village. The first thought through his head was 'Did she see Krystal?' -No, she didn't- A familiar voice said. 'Krystal?' Eli asked through his mind. -Yeah, I heard her thoughts and she was behind the treeline. I'm up in the cloud layer right now, I'm going to find someplace in the forest to land and then… Is it okay if I listen to your thoughts to tell what's going on?- she replied. 'I'm fine with that' Eli said to her, turning his attention to Lily, who was running up to them. "Hi Lily!" Tommy said, greeting their friend. Lily moved one of her auburn locks away from her face before replying, "Hi guys, so did you hear the news?" Eli exchanged a glance with Tommy, "What news?" Eli asked. "They's some people from a place called HIE, they said they're looking for a missing person, but I wondered why they wouldn't have the police out there, you know?" When they nodded, Lily continued "So I decided to listen in on a conversation they were having among themselves, and they were talking about some kind of experiment" She said, her green eyes sparkling, "I guess it escaped and they're looking for it" Eli looked at her, his thoughts on Krystal "So why are you telling us this?" He asked. Lily turned to him, smiling, "It's exciting! Not much happens around here. That and I heard that they'll be coming out here in a few days" Lily looked up to see all of her friends had a look of shock on their faces, maybe even a touch of horror, as if they knew something she didn't, and they were afraid. "Hey" she said, waving her hand in Savannah's face, "What's with you guys?" Eli gave a quick glance to the sky, but thankfully he couldn't see his hybrid friend. "It's just..." Tommy started, thinking of an excuse, "If they find three kids living out in the middle of the woods, won't they take us away?" Lily gasped, "I never thought of that! So what are you guys gonna do?" Tommy thought for a moment, looking at his sister and his best friend, "We leave" Lily looked at him like he was crazy, "But, where will you go?" Tommy had no clue, he was glad when Eli said, "Budder City, we need to go to town anyways, so we can just stay there for as long as it takes for this to blow over" Savannah nodded, she and Tommy agreed. 'But what will we do about you?' He silently thought, -Disguise?- Krystal muttered, still listening in. Eli smiled at the thought. "Well" Their visiting friend said, "I have to go home now, my parents are probably wondering where I've gone" Savannah smiled, "See you soon" she quietly told her friend. Lily ran off into the woods, following the overgrown path that used to be a road to the old orchard. "Well that was interesting" Tommy said, "Now how do we tell Krystal that we have to leave?" Eli grinned at his friends "You don't have to, she was listening to my thoughts" Savannah turned and stared at him, "How?" Then we heard the wingbeats as Krystal flew up to us "I have telepathy" She said in explanation.


	5. Starting Out and an Explanation

(The next day)

Turning to Savannah, I asked her "Are you sure that this will work?" She smiled, aware of my discomfort, "Yes, as long as you remember what to do" She leaned closer to whisper in my ear, "Let the boys do the talking, we don't want anyone to see your fangs" I instantly looked into the mirror again. I was wearing one of Savannah's dresses, it was purple with a black sequined belt. With my tail wrapped around my legs under the dress, my wings folded beneath the dress and my hair, gloves hiding my claws, and sunglasses over my eyes, I could say that I looked fairly human. Savannah smiled at me, "Let's get going, we need to get to Budder city before nightfall" I nodded and followed her out to where the other two were waiting. Each of the four of us carried a bag, mostly supplies, but I had seen the others put a few personal things in their bags. Tommy with his baseblock (baseball) glove, Eli with his art supplies, and Savannah had a picture of her and Tommy's parents. All that my bag carried was food and some of Savannah's clothes that I was borrowing, I had nothing to truly call my own. "So where are we staying while we're in the city?" I asked as we set out. Tommy glanced my way and said "Hopefully with some friends of mine" I raised my eyebrows, "Hopefully?" "I didn't have the time to send a message" After a few minutes of walking, Eli said "Krystal, I've been meaning to ask you, what was your life like at 'the compound'? You don't have to answer if you don't want to" I thought for a moment, why not let them know? I could trust my friends. "Well, I do owe you an explanation. Let's start at the beginning" I said as we walked, Budder city was almost twenty miles away so I had some time. "They created me using some kind of machine. They mixed human cells with some cells from an enderdragon egg that I have no idea how they got. That's how they made me at least, but after creating another, who was later deemed a failure, the unique mechanism of the machine was destroyed, and they couldn't replace it. So they tried making hybrids in other ways, mostly by splicing DNA into human children. That was a great success (note sarcasm), the longest living one lasted a week, and they were constantly in agony. So many children died at the hands of those scientists…" Tommy interrupted me, his face ashen, "And what were they trying to do with you?" I looked at him cautiously, he was trying to take the subject off of death. I continued "They were trying to make us into the ultimate killing machines. That's why the one who was created with me was a failure, he had some kind of split personality, half human and half ender. His human side was too compassionate, and in the eyes of the scientists, weak. His ender half was too ruthless and violent. He was too unstable… Yet he was the only family I have ever known, since he was technically my brother" We walked on in silence for awhile, brooding over our thoughts. Then I went on, "So anyways, at the compound I was mostly being studied, and they were trying to bring out my aggression, but I refused to play their game. A few years ago, I stopped talking entirely, just to spite them, which was why my voice was so rough when I woke up. I told you the guards called me Ender right?" Savannah nodded, so I continued "They didn't want to call me by my number designation, so when they found out that I hated being called 'ender', that's what they called me" We continued to walk towards Budder city, and my mind drifted, imagining what I could do now that I was free...


	6. Budder City

_A/N I know that TeamCrafted is breaking apart, but I'm just going to keep it together for the sake of the story, kay?_

* * *

I looked down the road, seeing the golden peaks of Budder city, the richest and best armed city in this part of Minecraftia. I turned to Tommy, putting my hand on my sunglasses to make sure that they were in place, "So who runs the city?" I asked. Tommy shaded his eyes as he looked over at the distant city, "A group of guys who go by the name of TeamCrafted. The leader, Sky or Adam, is obcessed with gold, but he calls it 'budder'" "Who are the other members?" I asked, wanting to know what we're facing. Tommy kept staring out at the city, "Well, all of the members have two names, a real name and a nickname. There's Sky or Adam, Deadlox or Ty, MinecraftUniverse or Jason, Ssundee or Ian, Huskymudkipz or Quintin, Bajancanadian or Mitch, and ASFJerome or Jerome" "Hmm" I muttered, a few of those names sounded familiar, maybe the scientists had mentioned them? I shrugged it off, following the others towards Budder city.

(Time skip to when they get there)

I smirked, seeing a merchant approach Tommy, and tried to sell us stuff. Tommy was trying to chase him away when I heard a voice say "What seems to be the problem here?" I turned to see a few guys about our age approaching us. Tommy seemed to recognize them, so I looked into his thoughts, and saw that they were part of TeamCrafted. The man who had spoken was Sky, and Tommy was talking to him. My attention wasn't on their conversation, it was on the guy standing next to Sky. This guy wore a white v-neck, gray pants, and green headphones. His hair was a familiar shaggy brown, and his visible eye was reddish-brown, his other eye being covered by hair. I watched him tell Sky that they needed to get back to headquarters, and Sky invited us to stay there as well. Tommy agreed, and we followed TeamCrafted to their HQ, which was apparently a giant building made up of gold, a sign indicated that this was indeed their headquarters. We went in, and after a quick dinner, Ty led us to our rooms, which were all right next to each other. Mine was the last in the hallway, so he and I were alone. He looked at me strangely, and said "Why do I get the feeling that I know you from somewhere?" I smirked, readying myself, "Well, I suppose I couldn't have expected you to recognize me" I said, seeing his confusion, I went on "Funny how people can change in ten years, huh Lox?" Ty looked at me in shock before a look of realization came across his face, only me, him, and a few others knew that name. "En...Ender?"


	7. He's Here

(Ty pov)

All the color drained out of my face as she nodded. Guilt flooded over me, my sister had been trapped there for ten years believing that I was dead, while I had forgotten her, done nothing to even try to set her free, abandoned the thought that I even had a sister anymore…

(Krystal pov)

Ty looked at me, "Ender…" I scowled at him, "Don't call me that, my name's Krystal now" he nodded "How did you escape?" Stepping into the room, I quickly explained what had happened. When I was done, I uncoiled my tail and took off the sunglasses "So, how did you get out? I heard that they were destroying you. And how's the split personality going?" I asked, giving him a fangy smile. Ty didn't look too surprised, and causally pulled back the hair that flopped over his face, to uncover his violet eye, "One of the guards helped me, even faked my death. The one who taught us to read, Mike?" "Last time I saw him, he was dead. Continue" Ty looked a little rattled by that, but obeyed "My ender half gave itself a name, Enderlox" "Enderlox, our old names together, and Deadlox, going for some symbolism there?" (a/n Lox was Ty's name when he was at the compound, if you hadn't gotten that yet) "I wanted to leave that life behind, forget it, forget you. I left you there…" he muttered and I could feel his guilt. "You have no reason to be guilty Ty" I said, "You saved yourself from them, they were going to kill you! And would have if you had come back" "But you still would have, wouldn't you Krystal? It's in your nature to never leave anyone behind, to never give up! I always looked up to you when we were young, the way you defied the guards and scientists, the way you always protected me, even the way the scientists liked you more! I was weak, I could never be half the person you are" I stepped back a little, worried by my brother's outburst, then decided to leave it, and go to a different subject. "Ty, do your friends know about… what happened? What we are?" "No, I didn't know how they'd react, and when they banished Seto, a sorcerer, for his magic, I was afraid that they'd cast me out too. And Seto is the only one who knew the truth about me" I knew he was still feeling guilty when he said "Tell me, what happened at the compound when I was gone?" I shrugged, saying "Same as always, they tried to bring out my aggression, tested me, the usual. But don't worry, they still haven't managed to make any more hybrids, though they are regretting 'destroying' you" Ty smiled slightly at that, then said something I wasn't expecting "You know, Enderlox missed you a lot more than I realized" I raised my eyebrows, silently asking him to go on "He's just a voice in my head unless I get angry. He named himself a combination of our names, plus, he seemed… depressed… whenever I thought about you" I grinned, hearing the voice respond with "Don't say things you're not sure of, idiot" I said "Don't worry Enderlox, I'm here now and I'm safe" Ty laughed, "I never thought I'd hear you talk to a voice inside my head!" I stared at him "Ty, have you forgotten that I can read minds?" His eyes widened and he gulped "Oh yeah, I did forget. I've forgotten a lot of things about you. Enderlox hasn't, you're the only one who's like him. I'm the human, he's the dragon" "Hey Ty? When do you change into your hybrid form?" I asked, streching my wings out for emphasis, lucky for me this room is quite large. He looked at me "Umm, I can transform if I want to, but if I were to be angry at someone or thing, Enderlox would come out and I would be forced to change" He smiled at me "You know, he seems calmer when you're around" I laughed "As you said Ty, I'm the only one like him, of course he relaxes a little around me!" My brother laughed too, "Well, I'll let you get to sleep, if we're going to tell my friends, then we have are going to have a long day tomorrow" He walked out and I locked the door behind him. I smiled to myself, my brother, who I thought was dead, is perfectly alive and well. And tomorrow, maybe we'll reveal our secret to his friends. We will have no reason to hide anymore, now that we have each other to turn to, just like the old days… I walked over to where I left my bag, grabbing some pjs and changing into them. I flopped down on the bed, wrapping my wings around me and fell into a deep sleep...


	8. Telling His Friends

I woke to the loud ringing of an alarm clock, scowling at the redstone machine. I got up and shut it off, despite how much I wanted to smash it into the ground, which I could easily do. Yawning, I walked into the attached bathroom, looking at myself in the mirror for a moment before changing into some of the clothes that Savannah had lent me, choosing another simple dress. Once I was ready, I tucked my wings away, hid my tail, and put on the sunglasses. I headed down to where Ty had told me to meet him. I checked the time, 7:50 am, I had ten minutes to find the place where I was to meet him. I headed downstairs and within five minutes spotted the golden/budder statue of Sky killing a squid. A few minutes later, I saw Ty coming towards me, and he said "Good, you're here. The rest of TeamCrafted is downstairs in our meeting room, probably wondering where I am" I grinned at him, "Then let's go let them know" As we went towards the meeting room, we passed many recruits in the halls. They stared at the strange girl walking next to their general, wondering at my strange appearence, but my brother sent them away, scowling. When we reached the room a few minutes later, Ty and I stood outside for a few minutes while Ty transformed into his hybrid form. I made sure that Only TeamCrafted was in the room, but as I told Ty that, someone opened the door and saw us. It was Sky, he gaped at his friend, seeing the wings, tail, claws, fangs, and glowing violet eyes. "What the heck Ty!" He yelled, catching the attention of his other friends "What the heck is that, you… YOU MONSTER!" he screamed. Ty looked very hurt, seeing his friend's terrified faces, but with some silent encouragement from me, he spoke "And you wonder why I never told you. Ever since you banished Seto, I was afraid that you would react like this. Who is the Real monster? Sky? Mitch? Either of you want to answer?" My brother had told me that those two had been the biggest supporters of getting rid of Seto, and he had been the only one against. I spoke for the first time in front of them, my voice smooth and bitter "Well Ty, you were right about your 'friends' At least you have me, right?" My brother nodded, and TeamCrafted seemed to notice me for the first time "Aren't you that girl that came here with Tommy yesterday? Krystal?" Ian said. I smiled "At least you remembered my name" and then Ty introduced the side of me that they hadn't seen, the side that Tommy, Eli, and Savannah never knew, "Krystal is my older sister" The look of shock on their faces was evident, but they seemed more curious than angry right now, "What? You have a sister Ty?" Jerome asked. I rolled my eyes "You didn't know he was an enderdragon hybrid either, so I'd suggest rethinking what you know about my brother" Then I smacked Ty on the head "What was that for!?" he yelped. "I'm only a few minutes older than you! We're more like twins" Since TeamCrafted looked curious, we explained our origin, they were very shocked at the end. I noticed that Sky was sitting at the back of the group, obviously ashamed of his earlier outburst, "I'm sorry Ty" he whispered. I heard him and said "Care to say that louder Sky?" He looked up surprised, and did. Ty was surprised "You don't have to apologize Sky, you're my best friend, and nothing will change that" Then my brother turned to me, "We're leaving on a mission in a few days Krystal, I want you to come with" I grinned "Let me guess, you're still feeling guilty and don't want to let me out of your sight?" Judging by the look on his face, I was spot on. "Of course, I'll come with you Ty! And maybe Tommy and the others will want to come too" "I'll ask them" He assured me. I was glad that his friends were now accepting of who we were, and there hadn't been too much of a fuss over it.**  
**


	9. Leaving

(A few days later…)

I turned to take a final look at Budder City, watching the golden buildings vanishing into the distance as we walked away. Ty had finally explained the mission to me, we were investigating a minor squid attack at a small village. It had taken a rather long time for Ty to explain to me why Sky hated squids and why they attacked us, not a conversation I'd like to remember… It would take two days to get to the village, so we would have to camp one night. Ty and I walked at the back, to keep curious recruit eyes off of me. I was wearing black jeans and a t-shirt of the same color, the sunglasses planted firmly on my face and a cloak covering my wings. Yup, I still have to dress suspicious as all get out. Our group was composed of me, Ty, Sky, and Ian leading, then there were my three friends, and about ten recruits who had been specially selected by Sky. We walked for a very long time, and around the time the sun was going down, we set up a camp in a large field. Most of the recruits were fairly tired, unused to walking all day. Ty and I don't tire so easily. Sky set up a watch schedule, and soon enough, I drifted off to sleep, my brother beside me.

(Time skip)

I was jarred awake when I heard Sky yelling something about mobs. With a quick scan of the temporary camp, I noted that it was about midnight, and observed the mobs surrounding us and recruits scrambling for weapons. I shook my brother awake and lifted the obsidian sword he had given me. Pulling off my sunglasses, I charged at the mobs. Who cares if the recruits see me so long as we are alive? We fought for a very long time, fighting skeletons, spider hoards, zombies, even a few creepers. While I was finishing off a zombie, my only wound being an arrow sticking out of my arm, I heard Ty yelling a warning to me. I turned to see a creeper approaching. Preparing for the explosion, I held my sword up like a shield, but the explosion never came. Confused, I looked up to see the creeper staring at me, it's eyes had a strange look to them. I was about to swing my sword to kill it, but it spoke "Enderborns" it hissed. I was so shocked, that I risked a glance at my brother, noticing that the mobs weren't attacking us anymore. Ty stood a few blocks away, and thought to me 'Tell me you heard that too!?' I returned my eyes to the creeper before me, it said something else "Only you two can hear me, you are not natural. The gods are interesssted in you, Massster Herobrine sent usss to tell you such, and to asssk you to come with usss, so He can sssee you himssself" I glanced around once more, there were no endermen in the ranks of this mob army. This creature was trying to give us an ultimatum, Notch or Herobrine, but then… "No, screw your canoe! (inside joke)" I told the creeper, shaking my head for emphasis. It hissed and started to glow, obviously unable to keep it's anger in check. I jumped backwards, then I felt a cold, clawed hand on my shoulder. I turned to look, and was relieved to see violet eyes and black skin. The enderman teleported my brother and I away before the creeper exploded. I looked around to see where we were now, a tall hill overlooking the battle, three endermen standing next to us. The one that had teleported us warbled, and I got the feeling that we could trust it. "I think they're trying to help us" I said to Ty. I turned to the enderman who looked like it was in charge "We need to help our friends" It warbled unhappily, and before I could look into it's thoughts to see what it was saying, the other endermen grabbed us by our shoulders and teleported. I caught a glimpse of yellowish stone before everything went black...


	10. The End Dimension

Someone was shaking me, my eyes fluttered open and I saw Ty, who looked a little panicked. I sat up, seeing the same yellowish stone as before I had apparently passed out. "Where are we?" I asked, seeing that there was no apperent way out of the yellow stone room we were trapped in, the endermen had probably teleported us in here. "The End, I think" was all my brother said. That explained the yellow endstone around us and why I had blacked out. "But why?" I muttered to myself and all Ty did was shrug. I had no idea why we were here, unless the enderdragon was just as curious as the two gods, then we were screwed. "Why did they knock us out?" My brother asked, thinking I didn't know. I grinned, I could answer this. "They didn't, interdimensional travel by means of anything other than a portal, in our case the endermen, can do that to people. I overheard the scientists talking about it once" My brother looked curious for a moment, then turned away to ponder this new idea. I stared at him "Ty?" "What?" he asked, scowling. "Why are you in your hybrid form?" His violet eyes widened, and he twisted to look at his back, and sure enough, his wings and tail. "But… but I didn't try to transform…" He said, surprised. I thought for a moment, "It must be because we're in the End, all the energy from the crystals, dragon, maybe even the dimension itself must have this effect on you. If you noticed, our wounds are healed, and I feel much more powerful than usual" He nodded, taking it in. "Maybe, I feel the same way" We sat quietly for a few minutes, then the silence was broken by the sound of an enderman teleporting in. I looked it in the eyes, and to my surprise, it didn't get angry. Ty stood up, and then enderman, surprising me again, spoke "I am unsure of what to address you as, our queen has not yet told us. Her Royal Highness requests that you be brought to meet her" it's voice revealed it to be female. I exchanged a glance with my brother, then asked "Is your queen the enderdragon?" "Yes" she replied. I nodded to her, and the enderwoman teleported us to the surface of the End. I looked around at the endstone and the black void that was the sky. I suddenly got the impulse to fly, and I could tell that Ty did too. We both spread our wings and launched into the air, the enderwoman watching us. Hearing a roar, I turned to face the enderdragon flying towards us, my wings nearly faltering mid-flap. There are not many things that scare me, but putting my life on the hope that someone isn't an enemy is one of them. I only hoped that I looked braver than I felt. The enderdragon roared, and the endermen left this part of the End, obeying their queen's order. She looked at us, taking in our appearence. Ty and I hovered there, watching her in return. "I wished to meet you two" she said, her voice slightly strained. "Why?" my brother asked, unaware of her discomfort. "Because, you were not created normally, that's why Notch and Herobrine are hunting you down. I brought you here to keep you safe. My children" she said. Ty's jaw dropped, but I had been expecting it, my brother turned to me and asked "Because they created us from the egg…?" I nodded and spoke to the enderdragon "I assume you want to know what happened to it?" She looked slightly surprised that I had been thinking so far ahead, but nodded. I went on "It was destroyed, along with the machine they used to create us" She nodded again, then muttered "I expected as much. Still, there is you two, even if you are only half of what I am" I smiled, sure now that she wasn't an enemy, "You are technically our mother after all" Then she gave a formal introduction for herself "My name is Isalar, I am also known as the enderdragon or Queen of the End, you may call me Mother" Ty grinned, then did the same "My name is Ty, also known as Deadlox, used to be known as Lox" Then it was my turn, "I am Krystal, used to be known as Ender" Ty shuddered for some reason, "What is it?" I asked my brother. He shook his head, trying to clear it. "Enderlox wants to be announced too" Mother (That's what I'll be calling her from now on) looked curious, "Enderlox?" My brother nodded "He's the ender half of my personality" I flew up to Mother, whispering in her ear "Ty has a split personality, that's why the scientists tried to get rid of him" She looked surprised, then said "Follow me" I exchanged a glance with my brother, who seemed to have Enderlox under control by now. Mother led us to what looked like an obsidian castle, because that's what it was… "This is my home. I am sorry about where you were earlier, I did not know when you would wake. I did not want you to be wandering around in my castle without any idea where you were" Mother explained as we entered. My jaw dropped, the inside of the obsidian structure was decorated with an amazing assortment of blocks, probably the ones endermen stole from the Overworld. I ran my hand along the wall of the hallway as we walked, my fingers brushing against all sorts of materials, wood, emeralds, stone, and more. Mother smiled at out amazement "You like it?" I wordlessly nodded, still staring at the splendor before me. She stopped in another hallway, "You can stay in these rooms whenever you are here. The throne room where I live is right down there" she indicated the opposite direction of where we had come in. I mused over what she had said for a moment, "How do we get out of the End? Our friends were in a battle with Herobrine's forces when your endermen brought us here" She thought for a moment, "When you want to leave, I will show you to the End portal. As for your friends, they are mostly alright. As the endermen tell me, several are injured and one is dead" "Who!?" I immedietly asked, worrying for my friends. "Someone by the name of Heather" I instantly felt relieved then guilty for feeling like that, it wasn't anyone I knew, but death is terrible. My brother obviously knew more about her "She was one of the recruits, I didn't know her very well. She just joined a few months ago" Mother joined us in a moment of silence, then Ty and I entered the rooms and fell asleep in the beds, slightly comforted by the fact that we could do something so simple, so far from everything we knew.**  
**


	11. A Memory of Pain

My brother and I were awakened by Mother's roaring. We rushed out of our rooms and into the throne room. We flew out of the gap in the roof (that Mother had for that purpose) and I saw Mother flying around, noticing that a couple of the crystals had been smashed. Indicating for Ty to fly closer to me, I said "Someone's here" He nodded and we flew over to one of the towers where the healing crystal still remained. I felt sick to my stomach, knowing that Mother was going to kill the human, whoever it was. I hated death, even we had been created as killing machines. Mother roared to us "Stay back you two!" And we did, we waited, watching Mother's health lowering. She was out of range of the healing crystals. Her health was very low, and I couldn't take it any longer. I surprised Ty by flying out and dive-bombing the human. He was so startled that he took a few steps back, letting Mother catch her breath. I felt a foreign, tickling sensation in my throat, and all of a sudden spewed out violet flames. Shocked, I flew a few feet away and landed, staring at the the burnt human, who looked as surprised by me as I was. I watched in horror as Mother took the opportunity and knocked the human over the edge and into the void. I squeezed my eyes tightly closed, trying to block out the image, but was instead pulled into a memory I had tried very hard to forget…

(Flashback, 3rd person)

The guards were leading Ender somewhere, most likely for a new experiment. They stopped in front of a door and shoved her through it. Ender gasped, hyperventilating. The room was above the rest of the compound and three wall were entirely made up of glass. She heard the door lock behind her, and turned around, eyes wide, met with the single blank wall. Her worst fear, being able to see the freedom that was just behind her grasp. She slid down to the floor, covering her eyes, terrified. If she opened them, then she would be able to see the land around the compound, the beautiful woods that surrounded the small cluster of buildings. She made a small noise of complete and utter terror, hoping against hope that this experiment would be over quickly…

(Time skip, a few weeks later, still in flashback mode)

The guards laughed, "They want us to take the creature out now, they say that they've gotten all the data they can from this experiment" One said, holding up a phone that his orders had been sent to him on. "Alright, which unlucky one of us has to go in there to get it?" "Since you said that, you get to go get Ender" They all laughed. Not a one of them was afraid of Ender, they were aware of what she could do, but she had never harm a soul. "Fine, fine" The guard opened the door, then went in, saying "Ender? You can come out now" Suddenly, something slammed into him and he yelled. He turned to see Ender attacking him, a crazed look in her eyes. "Help!" He yelled as Ender used her claws to tear at his skin, other guards ran in and it took three of them to pull Ender off of him. He was bleeding badly when another two guards carried him out. He did not see Ender blink and a normal look return to her violet eyes, she realized what she had done, and her eyes filled with tears of regret, she had nearly become what she had sworn she would never be. The other guards carried her back to her cage, suddenly terrified of the hybrid girl. Meanwhile, the scientists discussed what had happened. "We finally get it to attack something, but we had to drive it half-insane first!" the scientist who had spoken shook his head and continued "If we have a proper killing machine, we need it to have all of it's senses"

(End Flashback)

I opened my tear-filled eyes to see my brother and Mother watching me with concern "I helped kill someone" I whispered. "I promised myself that I'd never do it, not since That happened" Ty looked at me, confused "That?" I tried to blink the tears out of my eyes, and explained my flashback. Ty stared at me, then wrapped his arms around me, "I promise, nothing like this will ever happen to you again" He whispered in my ear. Mother wrapped her tail around us. "My two biggest fears…" I whispered. "What?" My brother asked. "My two greatest fears… The fear of having freedom right outside my grasp, and my fear that one day, I will become what the scientists made me to be… a killer" "You are not a killer, Krystal" Mother said "You saved me from him, and I was the one who killed him anyways" I smiled sadly, then rested my head on Ty's shoulder. My brother then said "We need to leave, we've been gone for too long already" Mother looked unhappy, but not surprised "Before you leave, I need to tell you about that fire. Since you have been in the End for awhile, the energy here is bolstering your powers. In the next few days, be aware that you may discover new ones" With that, she led us back to the castle and to the portal room. "You may come back whenever you wish, and I will have the endermen watching you just in case" Mother said. I nodded and grabbed my brother's hand' jumping into the swirling blackness of the portal.


	12. Ty's Story

I was falling. Through darkness and time and space, falling through it all. Suddenly, I could feel something again, and opened my eyes. I saw stone bricks surrounding us, and my brother shaking his head, "I hope this gets easier if we do it again" he muttered. I grinned "Maybe, since we can visit Mother anytime we wish" He nodded and I went on "We need to find a way out of here" I stepped down the crumbling stone stairs, and was surprised to see a small gray creature "What is it?" I asked Ty, reaching towards it, but he grabbed my arm, pulling me away "Don't do dat Krystal! That's a silverfish, they're super annoying if you get them going, and we don't have the weapons to deal with a swarm of them" "Uh, Ty? Have you forgotten these?" I held up my hands, reminding him. Ty, still in his hybrid form, looked at his hands too, seeing the violet claws. "Oh yeah" I lunged at the silverfish, slicing it in half before it even saw me "See? No problem" Then I heard a weird, hissing-crackling noise "What's that?" "Aaannndd, you just got them angry. Let' move before the ground falls apart below us" He snatched my arm before I could reply, and dragged me through the entrance to the portal room, saying "The guy should have made an exit somewhere…" We wandered around the stronghold for awhile, and found a few chests. Luckily, we found one where the human had stored some supplies, food, torches, and even a couple of pickaxes. I felt another pang of regret, this human would never return from the End. Since Ty and I couldn't find where the human had come down, we started to mine our way up, building a staircase. After a couple of hours of digging, Ty struck dirt and I heard the sound of a grass block breaking. I looked up in relief to see sunlight shining in, blinking to adjust. We emerged into a forest biome, "I don't see anything familiar" I muttered. Ty nodded "To the skies then?" "Yep" We took off into the air, looking for some kind of familiar landmark…

(Ty pov)

As we flew, I watched my sister, she had taken the events of the past few days remarkably well, even though part of it had resulted in her tears. She's been hardened by the compound, 'You should never have left her there' Enderlox reminded me, and I winced at the memory. We share troubled pasts, but mine ended sooner than hers did. "Hey Krystal?" She looked over at me "Yeah?" "Do you want to know what happened, after I escaped?" "Sure" "Well, it all started when…"

(Flashback)

"Lox, you need to get out of here" "But, what about Ender, Mike?" "I'll try to get her out later, but you need to get out of here Now" He almost dragged Lox out of the compound, and miraculously there were no guards to stop them. Mike lifted Lox up onto a horse that was waiting, "Go home Chiquita" He ordered the horse "But where am I going?" five year old Lox asked as the horse started off "Somewhere safer than here, I'm sorry, I can't help you anymore" Lox watched MIke disappear behind the trees. The trees blended together, and his vision grew fuzzy.

(Minor time skip)

Lox awoke to find himself on the ground, the horse gone. He rubbed his tender cheek, which felt like it might be bruised. He must have fallen asleep and then fallen off the horse. He was cold, but the greatest pain was loneliness, this was the longest Lox had ever been away from his sister, he missed her constant presence. He wandered, then heard a noise that perked his interest. Lox walked to the edge of a clearing and saw something he had not been expecting. A human boy, about his age, crying. Lox watched in wonder, marveling the the sight of a human acting 'normal' The only humans he had seen before now had been the scientists and the guards. Then to his surprise, the human looked up, and must have seen him standing in the shadows, because his eyes widened and he stepped back a little. Lox was as surprised as the human boy, and was terrified all of a sudden. He turned and ran from the human, suddenly realizing how hard it would be for him to live in this outside world, what had Mike sent him to? After he was a ways away, Lox scrambled up into a tree, settling down among the branches 'At least you had the brains to run' the dark voice sneered. "Go away, leave me alone" Lox whispered weakly, scared of the voice taking over. 'How can I leave you alone? You left our sister behind! And you did what Ender told you to never do!' Lox whimpered at what the voice was reminding him of, Ender had told him that he could never trust a guard, they cared more about money than the well-being of the experiments. He heard someone walking through the woods and saw a faint light below. Lox looked down to see the boy from earlier, who was carrying a ball of fire. Lox stared in amazement at the fire, surprised that the boy was not getting burned. He moved to get a better look, and a twig snapped beneath his hand, 'Way to go, imbecile' the voice snidely remarked, as the boy looked up and saw Lox, Lox's most terrifying features prominent in the firelight. Both jumped back, afraid of the other, and Lox prepared to run again. The human noticed that, and spoke "Wait, don't go! I'm all alone here…" Lox stopped and looked back at the other boy, "Wh...what?" "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. This fire spell is just so I can see. I'm a sorcerer, my name is Seto" "I…I'm called..." Lox stopped, unsure of what he should be called, as 'Lox' didn't seem right. "Don't like your name?" Seto asked the hybrid, who nodded. "Hmm… I'm gonna call you 'Ty' m'kay? It seems like it suits you" The hybrid smiled, "I… I like that…"

(End flashback, Krystal pov)

"After that, Seto and I lived together for years. He came up with the idea of isolating me and Enderlox, making one permanently dominant. He helped me when I was alone, we both were, his parents had been killed a few nights before we met. He was the first friend I had, other than you. We met Sky and Jason, and made TeamCrafted, and you know the rest…" My brother finished. I stared at him "Geez, and I thought I had a hard time after I escaped" "You did, Eli told me everything that happened, you were hurt and exhausted. You were attacked and I wasn't, you lived believing that I was dead until a week ago. You definitely had a harder time" Ty said. Then looked down into the forest we were flying above and did a double-take, "Hey! That's his house down there!" "What!?" "Follow me" Bewildered, I followed my brother down into the forest, then I realized "Hey, if Seto's house is here, doesn't that mean that the compound is somewhere around here?" "I never thought about that, maybe, I never checked how far I rode the horse" As we flew down, my thoughts drifted, thinking about Ty's story...


End file.
